Determining an event

ABSTRACT

A system allows for a user to notify an insurance provider or other third-party with a button press. The button can notify of an emergency situation. An event determiner may analyze information of events surrounding the button press. This information may include the time of day, location, identifying information for the insured, recent locations of the button, information from similar button presses and information from previous insurance claims. Based on this information, the event determiner may provide a high percentage estimate of an abnormal condition: home break-in, car accident, flat tire, etc. The system may automatically take action, depending on the event, such as contacting the police, sending a tow truck, or starting an insurance claim.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to receiving a signal andanalyzing insurance information to assist in determining a nature of anevent relating to the signal. In particular, various aspects describedherein relate to receiving a signal from one or more computing devices,sensors, monitors, or third party devices associated with a location anddetermining the nature of an event, in order to respond in various wayssuch as sending emergency personnel, insurance adjusters and the like.

BACKGROUND

In current systems, the time between an insurance event and the responseto the event, such as the dispatch of an adjustor to handle the event,or the initiation a claim, can be lengthy. In some cases, the user orowner of a property may be dealing with an emergency and may not havetime to lookup contact information for an insurance provider in order tomake contact with the insurance provider. In some cases, a user may beaway from a property and not find out about an event until returning.

Therefore, improved systems and methods to address these and othershortcomings in the art are desired.

SUMMARY

In light of the foregoing background, the following presents asimplified summary of the present disclosure in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not anextensive overview of the invention. It is not intended to identify keyor critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of theinvention. The following summary merely presents some concepts of theinvention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription provided below.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to apparatuses, computer implementedmethods and computer readable media for determining a nature of an eventin a geographical location, for example, at a user's home, based onreceiving a signal from a device located in the geographical locationand comparing a property of the signal with information from aninsurance database about previous events associated with thegeographical location;

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, one or more of severalactions may be initiated, based on the nature of the event, for example,various personnel may be dispatched to the location, devices at thelocation may be controlled and/or an insurance claim may be initiated.

Of course, the methods and systems of the above-referenced embodimentsmay also include other additional elements, steps, computer-executableinstructions, or computer-readable data structures. In this regard,other embodiments are disclosed and claimed herein as well. The detailsof these and other embodiments of the present invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages of the invention will be apparent from the description,drawings, and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and is notlimited by the accompanying figures in which like reference numeralsindicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example computing device that may beused according to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example network environment in which a system inaccordance with the present disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an example data collection systemaccording to one or more aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of an example process in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of this disclosure relate to systems and methods that may beutilized to enhance the safety of a user and help an insurance providerin responding to user needs.

In the following description of the various embodiments of thedisclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form apart hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration, variousembodiments in which the disclosure may be practiced. It is to beunderstood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural andfunctional modifications may be made.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a computing device (or system) 101in a computer system 100 that may be used according to one or moreillustrative embodiments of the disclosure. The device 101 may have aprocessor 103 for controlling overall operation of the device 101 andits associated components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, input/outputmodule 109, and memory 115. The computing device 101, along with one ormore additional devices (e.g., terminals 141 and 151, security andintegration hardware 160) may correspond to any of multiple systems ordevices, such as an insurance provider device or system, or a customerdevice or system, configured as described herein for performing variousdeterminations and actions based on the user requests.

Input/Output (I/O) 109 may include a microphone, keypad, one or morebuttons, touch screen, and/or stylus through which a user of thecomputing device 101 may provide input, and may also include one or moreof a speaker for providing audio output and a video display device forproviding textual, audiovisual and/or graphical output.

Software may be stored within memory 115 and/or storage to provideinstructions to processor 103 for enabling device 101 to perform variousactions. For example, memory 115 may store software used by the device101, such as an operating system 117, application programs 119, and anassociated internal database 121. The various hardware memory units inmemory 115 may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. In some examples, one or more nonvolatilehardware memory units having at least 5 gigabytes (GB) of memory may beused in device 101, in order to support sufficient numbers of userrecords in certain embodiments of the insurance provider systems. Memory115 also may include one or more physical persistent memory devicesand/or one or more non-persistent memory devices. Memory 115 mayinclude, but is not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 105, readonly memory (ROM) 107, electronically erasable programmable read onlymemory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store thedesired information and that can be accessed by processor 103.

Processor 103 may include a single central processing unit (CPU), whichmay be a single-core or multi-core processor (e.g., dual-core,quad-core, etc.), or may include multiple CPUs. Processor(s) 103 mayhave various bit sizes (e.g., 16-bit, 32-bit, 64-bit, 96-bit, 128-bit,etc.) and various processor speeds (ranging from 100 MHz to 5 GHz orfaster). Processor(s) 103 and its associated components may allow thesystem 101 to execute a series of computer-readable instructions, forexample, to store and update user alerts, retrieve and analyze userinsurance data from a clearinghouse, and perform various determinationsand actions using the user data, such as processing queries or requestsor postings.

The computing device may operate in a networked environment supportingconnections to one or more remote computers, such as terminals 141 and151. The terminals 141 and 151 may be personal computers, servers (e.g.,web servers, database servers), or mobile communication devices (e.g.,mobile phones, portable computing devices, and the like), and mayinclude some or all of the elements described above with respect to thecomputing device 101. The network connections depicted in FIG. 1 includea local area network (LAN) 125 and a wide area network (WAN) 129, and awireless telecommunications network 133, but may also include othernetworks. When used in a LAN networking environment, the computingdevice 101 may be connected to the LAN 125 through a local area networkinterface or adapter 123. When used in a WAN networking environment, thedevice 101 may include a modem 127 or other means for establishingcommunications over the WAN 129, such as network 131 (e.g., theInternet). When used in a wireless telecommunications network 133, thedevice 101 may include one or more transceivers, digital signalprocessors, and additional circuitry and software for communicating withwireless computing devices 141 (e.g., mobile phones, portable customercomputing devices) via one or more network devices 135 (e.g., basetransceiver stations) in the wireless network 133.

Also illustrated in FIG. 1 is a security and integration layer 160,through which communications may be sent and managed between thecomputing device 101 and the remote devices (141 and 151) and remotenetworks (125, 129, and 133). The security and integration layer 160 maycomprise one or more computing devices, such as web servers,authentication servers, and various networking components (e.g.,firewalls, routers, gateways, load balancers, etc.), having some or allof the elements described above with respect to the computing device101. As an example, security and integration layer 160 may comprise aset of web application servers configured to use secure protocols and toinsulate the computing device 101 from external devices 141 and 151. Insome cases, the security and integration layer 160 may correspond to aset of dedicated hardware and/or software operating at the same physicallocation and under the control of same entities as the computing device101. For example, layer 160 may correspond to one or more dedicated webservers and network hardware in a datacenter or in a cloudinfrastructure. In other examples, the security and integration layer160 may correspond to separate hardware and software components whichmay be operated at a separate physical location and/or by a separateentity.

As discussed below, the data transferred to and from a computing device101 may include secure and sensitive data, such as user location andidentity data. Therefore, it may be desirable to protect the datatransmission by using secure network protocols and encryption, and alsoto protect the integrity of the data stored when on the computing device101 using the security and integration layer 160 to authenticate usersand restrict access to unknown or unauthorized users. In variousimplementations, security and integration layer 160 may provide, forexample, a file-based integration scheme or a service-based integrationscheme. In file-based integration, data files may be transmitted to andfrom the computing device 101 through the security and integration layer160, using various network communication protocols. Secure datatransmission protocols and/or encryption may be used in file transfersto protect to integrity of the user data, for example, File TransferProtocol (FTP), Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP), and/or Pretty GoodPrivacy (PGP) encryption.

In a service-based integration, one or more web services may beimplemented within the computing system 100 and/or security andintegration layer 160. The web services may be accessed by authorizedexternal devices and users to support input, extraction, andmanipulation of the data in the server(s) 101. Web services built tosupport the service may be cross-domain and/or cross-platform, and maybe built for enterprise use. Such web services may be developed inaccordance with various web service standards, such as the Web ServiceInteroperability (WS-I) guidelines. In some examples, a web service maybe implemented in the security and integration layer 160 using theSecure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol toprovide secure connections between the computing device 101 and variousclients 141 and 151 attempting to insert or manipulate data within theclearinghouse. SSL or TLS may be used with HTTP or HTTPS to provideauthentication and confidentiality. In other examples, a web service maybe implemented using the WS-Security standard, which provides for secureSOAP messages using XML encryption. In still other examples, thesecurity and integration layer 160 may include specialized hardware forproviding secure web services. For example, secure network appliances inthe security and integration layer 160 may include built-in featuressuch as hardware-accelerated SSL and HTTPS, WS-Security, and firewalls.Such specialized hardware may be installed and configured in thesecurity and integration layer 160 in front of the web servers, so thatany external devices may communicate directly with the specializedhardware.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, various elements within memory 115 orother components in system 100, may include one or more caches, forexample, CPU caches used by the processing unit 103, page caches used bythe operating system 117, disk caches of a hard drive, and/or databasecaches used to cache content from database 121. For embodimentsincluding a CPU cache, the CPU cache may be used by one or moreprocessors in the processing unit 103 to reduce memory latency andaccess time. In such examples, a processor 103 may retrieve data from orwrite data to the CPU cache rather than reading/writing to memory 115,which may improve the speed of these operations. In some examples, adatabase cache may be created in which certain data from a database 121(e.g., a insurance provider database) is cached in a separate smallerdatabase on an application server separate from the database server. Forinstance, in a multi-tiered application, a database cache on anapplication server can reduce data retrieval and data manipulation timeby not needing to communicate over a network with a back-end databaseserver. These types of caches and others may be included in variousembodiments, and may provide potential advantages in certainimplementations of insurance providing systems, such as faster responsetimes and less dependence on network conditions when accessing theinsurance providing system to update or retrieve user alert information,or process requests for user services.

It will be appreciated that the network connections shown areillustrative and other means of establishing a communications linkbetween the computers may be used. The existence of any of variousnetwork protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like, andof various wireless communication technologies such as GSM, CDMA, Wi-Fi,and WiMAX, is presumed, and the various computer devices and insuranceproviding system components described herein may be configured tocommunicate using any of these network protocols or technologies.

Additionally, one or more application programs 119 may be used by thecomputing device 101 within an insurance providing system, includingcomputer executable instructions for receiving and processing signalsand maintaining, retrieving and analyzing user data (e.g., insuranceclaims, etc.), and performing other related functions as describedherein.

Referring to FIG. 2, an illustrative system 200 for implementing exampleembodiments according to the present disclosure is shown. Asillustrated, system 200 may include one or more workstation computers204. Workstations 204 may be local or remote, and may be connected byone of communications links 202 to a computer network 203 that is linkedvia communications links 205 to computing device 201. The computingdevice 201 may correspond to the computing device 101 previouslydescribed in connection with FIG. 1.

In an aspect of the disclosure, computing device 201 may provide forcreation of new insurance claims, general tracking and managing ofinsurance claims, and claims processing to manage payment of benefitsaccording to policy provisions.

While not shown in FIG. 2, the computer network 203 may comprise one ormore switches, routers, servers, and additional workstations.Workstations 204 may include many of the same hardware/softwarecomponents as computing device 201. In some embodiments, workstations204 may comprise one or more data storage devices for storing customerdata accessed and used by computing device 201. In other embodiments,workstations 204 may comprise various user terminals for accessing thecomputing device 201. In the system 200, computing device 201 maycomprise any suitable server, processor, computer, or data processingdevice, or combination of the same. Computing device 201 may be used toprocess the instructions received from, and the transactions enteredinto by, one or more users, operators, and/or employees of anorganization such as an insurance provider and the like.

Computer network(s) 203 may be any suitable computer network includingthe Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network (WAN), metropolitan areanetwork (MAN), a local-area network (LAN), a wireless network, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronoustransfer mode (ATM) network, a virtual private network (VPN), or anycombination thereof. Communications links 202 and 205 may be anycommunications link suitable for communicating between workstations 204and computing device 201, such as network links, dial-up links, wirelesslinks, hard-wired links, and the like.

Also in FIG. 2, customer terminals (not shown) may include any computingsystems and devices, such as personal computers, mobile devices (e.g.,mobile phones, personal digital assistants, mobile computing devices,etc.) laptop computers, tablets, or computer servers, that may be usedby a current or potential insurance customer to communicate with aninsurance provider. As discussed in more detail below, client softwareapplications executing on customer terminals may provide thefunctionality for users/customers to establish connections withinsurance provider servers and to submit customer data (e.g., signals)from users/customers to insurance providers. In order to facilitatecommunication with insurance providers and other insurance-relateddevices, customer terminals may include one or more client softwareapplications configured to establish a communication session with aninsurance provider server and to allow a user to perform variousinsurance-related actions, for example, a web browser (e.g., for webbrowser-based communication with insurance providers and otherentities), a web-based mobile application (e.g., a mobile platform-basedsoftware application developed and published by an insurance provider,reinsurance company, financial institution, or other entity), or astand-alone application (e.g., a non-web-based software applicationexecutable on a customer terminal).

In other embodiments, computing device 201 may be configured to performcertain data analysis and functionality, in addition to storing theinsurance customer, policy data and claim data. In such cases, thecomputing device 201 may perform any insurance-related action that mayotherwise be performed by an insurance provider or other computingdevice, such as determining insurance eligibility and terms forcustomers, processing insurance applications and requests for changes toexisting policies, determining maximum combined coverage amounts forcustomers, etc.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a system is disclosed for determining anevent associated with a signal from a geographic location. In anembodiment, an insurance claim may be initiated and/or generated inaccordance with the nature of the event.

In some embodiments, the system may allow for a user to notify aninsurance carrier of an event comprising an abnormal operation conditionof a home with a single button press. FIG. 3 is a schematic illustrationof a sensing and/or monitoring system arrangement according to one ormore aspects described herein. As shown in FIG. 3, the arrangement 300may include an alerting device 302. In some embodiments, the alertingdevice 302 may provide a button that a user may press to transmit asignal. In some embodiments, the alerting device may include a singlebutton (as illustrated in FIG. 3, item 302), in order to simplifyactivation by a user. In other embodiments, the alerting device mayinclude multiple buttons. In some embodiments, the alerting device maytransmit a signal upon the pressing of one or more buttons multipletimes. In some embodiments, the alerting device may transmit a signalupon the pressing multiple buttons, for example, in a particularsequence. In still other embodiments, the alerting device may include auser interface, for example, a touch screen, providing selectableregions which can be selected to cause the alerting device to transmit asignal.

Upon activation of the alerting device, a signal may be transmitted. Thecontents of the signal include various data, according to theembodiment. In a simple implementation, the signal may contain theidentity of the alerting device, for example, a serial number orassigned user ID. In other embodiments, the signal may containadditional or other information, such as information more descriptive ofan environmental condition or of an abnormal condition of a home,vehicle or user, among others.

In some embodiments, the alerting device 302 may provide haptic feedbackto a user to indicate that a button has been pressed or that the alertsignal has been or is being transmitted. In still other embodiments, thealerting device may itself determine that a signal should betransmitted, for example, after receiving a communication from a sensordevice, and indicate to the user that the button should be pressed. Theindication may be provided by haptic means, for example, by vibrating.In certain embodiments, the alerting device may receive communicationfrom a sensor and, in response, may transmit the signal without userinput. Various modes of operation as described herein may beprogrammable or configurable by a user or by an insurance provider.

The alerting device 302 may communicate a signal to a sensing system308. In some examples, the signal may be wirelessly transmitted and maybe transmitted to a base collection unit 306 prior to transmission to anevent determiner 310 at an entity, such as an insurance provider.Signals from one or more alerting devices may be transmitted to asensing system 308. In an aspect of the disclosure, sensing system 308may transmit the received information to event determiner 310 in orderthat an event associated with the signal from alerting device 302 may bedetermined. Alternatively, the signals may be transmitted directly to anevent determiner 310, e.g., via wired or wireless means. In somearrangements, data from one or more signals may be collected inreal-time and/or transmitted in real-time or near real-time.Additionally or alternatively, the data may be collected and/ortransmitted in batches.

In response to receiving a signal, event determiner 310 may employ oneor more processes to determine the nature of an event associated withthe signal. In some embodiments, a property of the signal, such as atime of day it was received, may be sufficient to determine a nature ofthe event.

In some embodiments, a claims database 316 containing previous insuranceclaims may be analyzed to determine a similarity between one or moreprevious insurance claims and the signal. For example, an analysis ofdata from previous insurance claims may suggest that alert signalsoccurring on a particular day of the week and time of day at thelocation are most likely due to a burglary. Continuing the example, theevent determiner 310 may determine that the abnormal condition at thelocation which led to the signal is a burglary event and various actionsmay be taken, such as dispatching emergency personnel or notifyingneighbors. In other embodiments, various events may be determined, forexample, faulty water heater, roof damage, a false alarm or a fire.These are examples of the types of events that may be determined and arenot meant to be limiting of the types of events that may be determined.Those skilled in the art would appreciate that various other events maybe determined, given the methods disclosed herein.

In some embodiments, the event determiner 310 may search claims database316 containing previous insurance claims in order to locate one or moreclaims associated with the geographical area from which the signal wasreceived. These previous insurance claims may have been input into theclaims database 316 via any existing means and/or the previous insuranceclaims may have been generated based on previous signals, such as froman alerting device. In some embodiments, other databases, includingdatabases external to the insurance provider, may be accessed forinsurance claims or other information about events in the geographiclocation. In addition, various other additional outside data sources mayalso be collected and utilized. Such sources of data may include policereports, alarm companies, governmental agencies, etc.

Having located one or more previous insurance claims associated with thegeographical location, the event determiner 310 may filter or otherwiseevaluate attributes of the previous insurance claims in order toidentify one or more previous insurance claims with an attribute incommon with the signal. Depending on the embodiment, various attributesmay be evaluated. For example, in some embodiments, the time of dayand/or the day of week of the event associated with the previousinsurance claim may be evaluated. In other embodiments, a detailedidentification of a location may be evaluated. In still otherembodiments, event determiner 310 may determine a nature of the eventbased upon analysis of accumulated sensor data.

In some embodiments, an alerting device 302 may be provided to ahomeowner so that it may be used to alert authorities and/or aninsurance provider to an abnormal condition of the home. In someembodiments, the alerting device may be specialized to serve aparticular alerting function, such as for alerting a fire departmentand/or surrounding neighbors in the event of a fire. In someembodiments, the specialized alerting function may alert the policedepartment. In some embodiments, whenever the alerting device isactivated, a report may be generated and transmitted to the insuranceprovider. In some embodiments, a button on the alerting device may bepressed to signal that help is needed. In such embodiments, a particularnumber of presses of the button may provide an indication of the type ofevent (e.g. fire, burglary, flood, smoke). For example, one button pressmay represent one type of event, while two presses of the button mayrepresent another type of event. In other embodiments, multiple buttonsmay be provided, for example, some embodiments may provide threebuttons. In embodiments with multiple buttons, a unique event type maybe assigned to each button. It should be understood by those skilled inthe art that the buttons described herein may be physical buttons, butthey may, in some embodiments, be implemented by others means, forexample, as touch areas on a touch screen of an electronic device, suchas a tablet or a mobile phone.

The alerting function described above in relation to the alerting device302 may be incorporated into one or more devices in a home 304. Forinstance, one or more sensors or sensing devices may include an alertingfunction or may be communicatively coupled with an alerting device. Forexample, various sensors may sense the operating condition of variousappliances, such as hot water heaters, refrigerators, washing machines,dryers, furnaces, air conditioning units, security systems and the like.In some examples, sensors or other monitoring devices may be arranged onor integrated into roofing or other building materials, and the like.Other home devices may include sensors or be monitored, withoutdeparting from the invention. In some examples, various types of sensorsmay be used with the sensing and/or monitoring system. For instance,power sensors, water sensors, heat or smoke sensing devices, flamesensors, glass breakage sensors and the like, may be used. In anembodiment, event determiner 310 may analyze data from the varioussensing devices in order to determine the nature of an event at aparticular location.

In some embodiments, an insurance provider may activate various devicesin the home, in response to receiving the signal and/or determining anature of the event related to the signal. For example, the insuranceprovider may turn on lights and/or open, lock or unlock one or moredoors or windows, shut off a water supply, and/or play loud music orgenerate other audible alerts. In some embodiments, the water supply toa home may be shut off, for example, when the nature of the event may bedetermined to be flooding. In some embodiments, the alerting device orother data collection device may begin collecting information, such assensor information, from the location or nearby locations, such asnearby homes.

In some embodiments, when the alerting device is activated,environmental or sensor data may be immediately captured and reported toan insurance provider.

The insurance provider may be able to determine the type of event basedon the time that the signal is received, the location from where thesignal came and insurance information related to nearby locations. Forexample, an insurance provider may compare the signal, or informationrelated to the signal, with information from other houses nearby.

In some embodiments, the insurance provider may begin an insurance claimautomatically after reception of the signal.

In some embodiments, the insurance provider may have received signalsfrom other alerting devices, activated by neighbors in the recent past.In some embodiments, the insurance provider may analyze the time of dayof the previous activations, over a period of time, for example, overthe prior three months, in order to identify one or more eventspossessing an attribute in common with the signal from an alertingdevice.

In other embodiments, the insurance provider may receive signals fromother alerting devices, activated by neighbors within a short timeperiod of receiving a signal from a particular user. In suchembodiments, the occurrence of multiple signals from neighboringlocations, such as homes 312 and 314, when analyzed by an insuranceprovider, may provide an indication of the nature of the event. In otherembodiments, the insurance provider may analyze previously enteredinsurance claims related to the location.

Upon receiving a signal and/or determining a nature of the associatedevent, the insurance provider may dispatch staff or otherwise contactothers to respond to the event. In some embodiments, an insuranceprovider may dispatch a drone to collect more information, delivermaterials or otherwise provide assistance at the location.

In some embodiments, the insurance provider may communicate with otherdevices, for example, devices nearby the alerting device, to obtainadditional information that may be used in determining the nature of theevent or in responding to the event. In some embodiments, the insuranceprovider may begin saving information, such as from nearby surveillancesystems. In some embodiments, the insurance provider may initiaterecording from nearby cameras. In some embodiments, the home 304depicted in FIG. 3 may include a plurality of appliances and/or systemsand one or more of the appliances and/or systems may be monitored by oneor more sensing devices.

In an embodiment, information about an event at one home may be sharedby the insurance provider with other homes in the same neighborhood. Forinstance, FIG. 3 illustrates additional homes 312 and 314 which alongwith home 304 may comprise homes in a common neighborhood. Theneighborhood may be defined by a number of particular streets oraddresses or even by zip codes. Homes located within the sameneighborhood may share information in order to notify each other ofevents. For example, if the insurance provider determines, based on asignal, that a burglary may be ongoing at home 304, a message may betransmitted to home 312 and home 314 to alert them to the potentialdanger and to have them take preventive measures such as turning on allexterior lights. In an embodiment, homes willing to share such data withan insurance provider and with other homes may be eligible fordiscounted insurance premiums or other incentives.

In an aspect of the disclosure, sensing system 308 may log the time ofday that an event occurs such as the time a signal is received fromalerting device 302, and the like. In addition, sensing system 308 maylog times of receiving signals from other devices.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram for an example process in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. At step 402, a signal may bereceived from an alerting device, such as alerting device 302 of FIG. 3.At step 404, an insurance database may be queried for information ofprevious events that occurred at the location or nearby the location. Atstep 406, a previous event having an attribute in common with the signalmay be identified. For example, one or more of the previous events mayhave occurred at the same time of day as the received signal. In someembodiments, the day of the week may be an attribute that may be foundin common. At step 408, the nature of the event may be determined, basedon the previous event having the common attribute. It can be understoodthat various algorithms may be used to determine the event, depending onthe type and amount of information available. Determining based on atime of day is one example method.

In some embodiments, the alerting device may enhance the personalsecurity of a user by providing a means to quickly send an alert signalto an insurance provider or others. In some embodiments, the form factorof the alerting device may be portable to enable a user to use thealerting device while on the move. For example, the alerting device maybe incorporated into a key fob for easy access by the user. The alertingdevice may be provided by parents to their children as a safetyenhancement. In some embodiments, the alerting device may replace atraditional panic button, for example, like those used in a bank orother business at risk of being burglarized. For example, an employeemay carry an alerting device in a pocket or purse such that it may beengaged discreetly in an emergency situation and may share the data withauthorities, insurance providers, and/or the employer.

In various embodiments, the function of the alerting device may beincorporated into various other devices, such as a mobile phone, awatch, eye glasses, clothing or other wearable items. In embodimentswherein the alerting device is incorporated into a mobile phone,pressing and holding the up and down volume buttons may cause the signalto be transmitted. In some embodiments, the alerting device may send atext message or other electronic message to authorities. In mobile phoneembodiments, an internal GPS capability may be leveraged to provide alocation to the insurance provider. In some embodiments, authorities maybe called immediately upon activation of the alerting device. In such anembodiment, the user who activated the alert signal may be able tofurther specify the event which led to the activation. In someembodiments, the mobile phone may provide a user interface with a dialogbox containing language, such as, “press a button”, which, whenactivated, may notify an insurance provider of an event and may provideadditional information about the event. The insurance provider mayanalyze, store and/or manage the information received from the mobilephone.

In some embodiments, the alerting device may be pre-programmed to causea phone call or a message to be sent to selected contacts. In someembodiments, an insurance provider may pre-program some or all of thecontacts that are to receive phone calls or messages. In someembodiments, the alerting device may cause a personalized message to betransmitted by the alerting device or by the insurance provider. Inthese embodiments, the personalized message may be different, based onthe determined event.

In some embodiments, an insurance provider may provide a service inwhich a user may activate the signal when they want someone to walk withthem. This service may be useful to a user who prefers not to walkalone, for example, at night. Users nearby may be able to meet the userand walk with them to their destination or along their intended path. Insome embodiments, in response to the reception of a signal, theinsurance provider may notify other users who may be nearby, forexample, users who have been vetted as safe or responsible users. Insome embodiments, crowd sourcing may be employed to locate users willingto accompany the user who activated the device. Functions of the crowdsourcing may be performed by the insurance provider or the functions maybe performed by another system. In some embodiments, users may opt in orout of various services and may be provided discounts or other benefitfor consenting to provide assistance when requested by the insuranceprovider.

As disclosed above, in some embodiments, the alerting device may detectits location and provide location information to an insurance provider.In some embodiments, if the alerting device is detected to have goneoutside of a particular area or beyond a certain range from a location,appropriate personnel may be notified. An alert may be provided orpersonnel notified when the device is detected outside of its normalarea.

In some embodiments, upon receiving a signal from an alerting device, aninsurance provider may automatically start an insurance claim and maybegin to populate data into the claim. For example, upon receiving asignal and determining that an event is a fire, the insurance providermay automatically begin an insurance claim and populate availableinformation, such as address, insured user name, policy number,incident, date, time, etc., into the claim. The completed or in-progressclaim may be transmitted to a user or to others, such as an insuranceadjustor or repair personnel.

In some embodiments, upon activation, an alerting device may gatherenvironmental information, including time of day, location, identifyinginformation of the insured user, recent locations of the device andother information and send to an insurance provider. In someembodiments, information may be continuously collected by the alertingdevice, even before alerting, so that the portions of the collectedhistory information may be provided to the insurance provider. Forexample, the alerting device, or other devices in communication with thealerting device (e.g. third-party devices), may contain a memory bufferable to store various sensor data or other information for 90 seconds.In order to protect the privacy of others, information from anythird-party devices may be collected in an anonymous manner, so that thethird party providing the information may be protected. Continuing theexample, at any time the alerting device is activated, the previous 90seconds of collected information may be transmitted to the insuranceprovider.

In some embodiments, environmental data, recent locations or similardevice activations may be analyzed by the insurance company to aide indetermining the event.

In some embodiments, the alerting device 302 may notify others inaddition to the insurance provider, including emergency personnel,roadside assistance or other third parties.

In some embodiments, an alerting device may be installed or otherwiseassociated with a vehicle (e.g. an automobile) in order to quickly alertan insurance provider that a customer has had a loss. In someembodiments, the insurance provider may contact the customer within ashort period of time after a loss is detected. In various embodiments,the insurance provider may contact authorities, family members or atowing company. In some embodiments, the insurance provider may contactfamily or other user contacts prior to contacting third-parties. In someembodiments the alerting device may be of a form factor that may attachto a sun visor of a vehicle in a manner similar to how a garage dooropener may attach to a sun visor.

The alerting device may be configured to connect to one or more devices(e.g., a GPS, sensors, etc.) installed in the vehicle to collectinformation. In some embodiments, the alerting device may be a systemincluding multiple devices. The alerting device may be configured tointerface with one or more vehicle sensors (e.g., fuel gauge, tirepressure sensors, engine temperature sensors, etc.). The alerting devicemay be configured to communicate directly or indirectly with the vehicletelematics management system.

In some embodiments, the alerting device may communicate via anautomobile OBDII interface using wired or wireless communications. Insome embodiments, the alerting device may receive information from thevehicle and automatically transmit information to an insurance provider.In some embodiments, the alerting device may be configured to collectdrive data using, e.g., an accelerometer, GPS, gyroscope, etc. of thealerting device and/or of the automobile. Drive data may include vehicletelematics data or any other data related to events occurring during avehicle's trip (e.g., an impact to a part of the vehicle, a deployedairbag, etc.). For example, drive data may include location information,such as GPS coordinates, indicating the geographical location of thealerting device as well as speed and acceleration data that may be usedto detect speeding and hard-braking events.

In some embodiments, upon receiving a signal from an alerting deviceassociated with an automobile, the insurance provider may predict apotential emergency, for example, a break-in, car accident, flat tire,etc., based on information from the device. For example, the alertingdevice may interface with systems in a vehicle that are capable ofproviding information or status of various systems, including tirepressure monitoring systems or security systems. In other examples,based on the time of receiving the alert and the location of thevehicle, it may be possible to determine the event.

In some embodiments, upon receiving a signal from an alerting device inan insured user's automobile, the insurance provider may activatedevices in the automobile, such as turning off the ignition, applyingbraking and/or deploying an air bag. Various other actions may beinitiated in order to prevent an accident.

In some embodiments, the insurance provider may provide customers adiscount on their insurance or assign a preferred insurance rating tothose customers using the alerting device.

In some embodiments, the alerting device may enhance the safety of auser, for example, a user who might be living alone and might get into asituation in their home where they are unable to reach a phone. In someembodiments, a person's actions may cause automatic activation of thealerting device. For example, the alerting device may detect that a userhas fallen and provide an alert to an insurance provider. The alertingdevice may be worn around a user's neck or otherwise near or on theuser.

In other embodiments an application associated with the alerting devicemay guide a user through the steps of collecting information to reportor complete an insurance claim. In some embodiments, the collection maybe made interesting or pleasant to a user by incorporating amusementinto the process. In such embodiments, an interface of the alertingdevice, or of another device associated with the alerting device, mayprovide a game-like experience to a user to guide the user through thecollection of information for the insurance provider. For example, oncea button is pressed to cause an alert, a software application may aid incapturing additional information through a game-like experience. In someembodiments, a user may be awarded points, cash, or other benefits forcollecting the information. In some embodiments, a mobile applicationmay provide a user interface to guide a user through the steps ofcollecting information to report an insurance claim.

Aspects of the invention have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, andvariations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occurto persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of thisdisclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art willappreciate that the steps illustrated in the illustrative figures may beperformed in other than the recited order, and that one or more stepsillustrated may be optional in accordance with aspects of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of improving detection of anabnormal operation condition, comprising: receiving a first signalindicative of an insurance event from a first device located in a firstbuilding at a first geographical location, the first signal indicativeof an insurance event comprising an abnormal operation condition of thefirst building; querying a database for information regarding one ormore previous insurance events associated with reception of a secondsignal indicative of a second insurance event from a second devicelocated at a second building at a second geographical location that isdifferent from the first geographical location; filtering andidentifying, by a computer processor, that at least one of the one ormore previous insurance events has an attribute in common with the firstsignal indicative of the insurance event comprising the abnormaloperation condition of the first building; determining a nature of theinsurance event, based at least in part on the identifying that at leastone of the one or more previous insurance events has an attribute incommon with the first signal indicative of the insurance eventcomprising the abnormal operation condition of the first building; andconfiguring, by the computer processor based on the determined nature ofthe insurance event, a controller in the first geographical location tocontrol at least one of a mechanical function and electrical function ofthe first building, wherein the at least one of the mechanical functionand electrical function comprises at least one of: locking a door of thefirst building, unlocking a door of the first building, shutting offwater to the first building, initiating an audio alarm device in thefirst building, turning on a light in the first building, and turningoff a light in the first building.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theinformation of the one or more previous insurance events comprises atleast one insurance claim for the second building.
 3. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the attribute comprises a time of day of an occurrenceof one of the one or more previous insurance events.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: automatically initiating an insurance claimcomprising information of the insurance event.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the attribute comprises a time of day of the reception of thesecond signal from the second device.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first device is associated with a first user and the second deviceis associated with a second user.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: notifying personnel of the insurance event, wherein thepersonnel comprises at least one of: a repair person, an insuranceadjustor, an emergency responder, safety personnel, a home owner, andneighbor.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first geographicallocation comprises an address, GPS coordinates, a zip code, aneighborhood or a street.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the abnormaloperation condition comprises at least one of: a faulty water heater,roof damage, a false alarm, and a break-in.
 10. The method of claim 1,further comprising: communicating with a data collection device in thefirst geographical location; and collecting information for use indetermining the insurance event.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst device is one of: a smoke detector, a moisture detector, amicrophone, a roof monitor, and home security system.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the first device is a smoke detector, and wherein thesecond device is a smoke detector, and the abnormal operation conditionof the first building is a fire.
 13. A device, comprising: a processor;and a memory storing computer-executable instructions, which whenexecuted by the processor, cause the device to: receive a first signalfrom a first device located in a first building at a first geographicallocation, the first signal indicative of an insurance event comprisingan abnormal operation condition of the first building; query a databasefor information regarding one or more previous insurance eventsassociated with a geographical area comprising the first geographicallocation, wherein at least one of the one or more previous insuranceevents comprises reception of a second signal from a second devicelocated at a second building in the geographical area, wherein thesecond building is at a different geographical location than the firstbuilding; filter and identify that at least one of the one or moreprevious insurance events has an attribute in common with the firstsignal indicative of the insurance event comprising the abnormaloperation condition of the first building; determine, based at least inpart on the filtering and an analysis of accumulated sensor datacorresponding to the first signal and the second signal, a nature of theinsurance event; and configure, based on the determined nature of theinsurance event, a controller in the first geographical location tocontrol at least one of a mechanical function and electrical function ofthe first building, wherein the at least one of the mechanical functionand electrical function comprises an audio alarm device of the firstbuilding and turning on a light of the first building.
 14. The device ofclaim 13, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause thedevice to collect information from a data collection device in thegeographical location, wherein the data collection device is at leastone of: a smoke detector, a moisture detector, a camera, a microphone, aroof monitor, and home security system.
 15. The device of claim 13,further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause the device todetermine the abnormal operation condition of the building.
 16. Thedevice of claim 15, further comprising instructions that, when executed,cause the device to automatically initiate an insurance claim based onthe abnormal operation condition of the building.
 17. The device ofclaim 15, further comprising instructions that, when executed, cause thedevice to notify a home owner or safety personal of the abnormaloperation condition of the first building.
 18. A system, comprising: oneor more non-volatile hardware memory units, the memory units storingthereon previous insurance claims; and one or more computer processors,the computer processors configured to perform determinations relating toan insurance event, wherein the system is configured to access andemploy the memory units and computer processors to: receive a firstsignal from a first device located in a first building at a geographicallocation, the first signal indicative of the insurance event comprisingan abnormal operation condition of the first building; query a databasefor information regarding one or more previous insurance eventsassociated with a geographical area comprising the first geographicallocation, wherein at least one of the one or more previous insuranceevents comprises reception of a second signal from a second devicelocated at a second building in the geographical area, wherein theneighboring building is at a different geographical location than thefirst building; filter and identify that at least one of the one or moreprevious insurance events having an attribute in common with the firstsignal indicative of the insurance event comprising the abnormaloperation condition of the first building; determine, based at least inpart on the filtering, a nature of the insurance event; and configure,based on the determined nature of the insurance event, a controller inthe first geographical location to control at least one of a mechanicalfunction and electrical function of the first building, wherein the atleast one of the mechanical function and electrical function comprisesat least one of: locking a door of the first building, turning on anaudio device of the first building, and turning on a light of the firstbuilding.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the system is furtherconfigured to automatically initiate an insurance claim comprisinginformation of the insurance event.
 20. The system of claim 18, whereinthe first device is one of: a smoke detector, a moisture detector, and aroof monitor.